AUGUST , riverdale (ii)

7.2: The Man In Black

"Mr. Lodge, she ran off days ago. She's with Archie Andrews."

Archie Andrews. A boy Hiram has felt the betrayal of. Of course Emmy ran off with him. She was his best friend. "Where are they?"

"We don't know." Fangs Fogarty admits. Hiram has the thought of calling someone to rid of the two imbeciles. Then the flash of Emilia's face if she heard crossed his mind. It wasn't worth it.

Hiram Lodge taps his desk in thought. Sweet Pea must know by now Victoria is his own child. "I'll see what I can do. She and your daughter will be back in Riverdale by tonight." Hiram says.

And then the phone rang.

_____Emilia's POV_____

We get into town, it's basically abandoned. "The markings are everywhere." Jughead says to me as he takes another photo. "The same ones we found on Dilton." The town looks like nobody had lived in it for decades. Like it had gone into complete and utter apocalyptic despair.

I look around, seeing an old woman. "Jug." He turns around, catching her eye as well. We both walk over, Jughead taking the lead.

"Excuse me?" He asks slowly. "Excuse me? Hi." He starts. She doesn't answer. "I'm...we're a little lost."

No answer.

I stand up straighter. "I saw some strange symbols on the side of the buildings. They didn't look as faded as the rest. Do you know what they mean?" I ask softly.

She doesn't make eye contact with us when she speaks. "Town wasn't always like this." She retorts. First, it was the Jingle-Jangle. Now we're back to Fizzle Rocks."

"Fizzle Rocks?" Jughead questions. "Like the candy?"

I shake my head at Jug. "The ones laced with drugs." I say. "They used them back in the 80's."

The woman speaks again. "You're a smart girl." She taps her fingers on the chair. "As for them symbols, they started showing up in town about the same time Fizzle Rocks trickled in." Jughead and I look at each other, knowing they must be related.

Jughead and I begin our walk again as he continues to take more pictures. My eyes travel the side of the building, my eyes growing wide when I see graffiti of none other than the Gargoyle King. "Juggie." My voice is almost a whisper when Jughead looks up, seeing the piece as well. He takes a shot of the paint when we hear girls laughing. We walk over, seeing three of them playing G&G. Jughead nudges me, gesturing to the Fizzle Rocks.

One girl raises a brow at us. "Are you a King?" She asks Jughead.

"I'm actually a Game Master." He says, hopping onto the tailgate. "I started as a Hellcaster, just like you." He says to the blonde.

"What level?" She asks him.

"I was three, on my way to four." He explains. "Where did you guys learn to play?"

The third girl speaks up. "Our older brothers used to play...before they left town."

"I've noticed there's only girls here. Where are all the guys?" I question.

The first girl looks at me. "All gone to work building a prison."

"Prison?" Jughead asks, looking back at me.

"My brother told me it's not just for prisoners." The third girl adds.  "It's for making Fizzle Rocks, too."

"So, the prison doubles as a drug lab?" The boy with the cap adds.

The blond placed her hand on her knee. "Where you shaking up, Game Master?"

"Lake Farm." He says.

The first girl scoffs. "Gracie's house? We used to be friends with her."